 The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde, by Audre Lorde.
This book spans 25 years of Audre Lorde's poetry, exploring the contradictions of being a Black lesbian mother whose partners included a gay man and a White woman. The poems address love, politics, family, and a whole lot about death. From "Who Said It Was Simple:" Sitting in Nedicks the women rally before they march discussing the problematic girls they hire to make them free. An almost white counterman passes a waiting brother to serve them first and the ladies neither notice nor reject the slighter pleasures of their slavery. She gives us the exuberance of love in "Love Poem:" Speak earth and bless me with what is richest make sky flow honey out of my hips rigid mountains spread over a valley carved out by the mouth of rain. And the agony of love's end in "Separation:" It is possible to shoot a man in self defense and still notice how his red blood decorates the snow. Many of the poems refer to African deities. "Call" invokes Aido Hwedo, the West African rainbow serpent, but whose name is also used for ancient deities whose names and faces have been forgotten: Holy ghost woman stolen out of your name Rainbow Serpent whose faces have been forgotten Mother loosen my tongue or adorn me with a lighter burden Aido Hwedo is coming. Perhaps her most quoted poem is "A Litany for Survival:" ...and when we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard nor welcomed but when we are silent we are still afraid So it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive. Popsugar Reading Challenge: Mentions my zodiac sign. 52 Book Club Challenge: Spans 10+ years. This Challenge Killed the Bookworm: There's probably a deity involved somehow. Around the Year Challenge: Cover text is not black or white.
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